Minister declines request to tell councils to lower speed limits outside schools
Lilian Greenwood says councils ‘know roads best’ after Conservative MP Aphra Brandreth says an order should be given following a schoolboy’s death.
A minister has rejected calls for the Government to tell councils in England to lower speed limits outside schools to 20mph.
Roads minister Lilian Greenwood said councils already have the power to change speed restrictions outside schools in response to a plea from an MP following the death of a schoolboy in Cheshire who was hit by a car.
Aphra Brandreth, Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury, said the death of 11-year-old Evan Rothwell in November last year was an example of why lower limits were needed.
Ms Brandreth said Wrexham Road, which the King’s School pupil was trying to cross when he was killed, had a 40mph limit.
She added one school in her constituency was on a road with a 60mph restriction.
Evan died in hospital four days after being hit by the car.
His school paid tribute to a “remarkable young man”, and his headteacher described him as a “bright, joyful and fun-loving classmate”.
A petition calling on Cheshire West and Chester Council to lower the speed limit on Wrexham Road near the school got more than 14,000 signatures.
In turn, the BBC reported last week that the council is reviewing road safety at the site.
Ms Brandreth said: “It’s clear that this is not just about this tragic incident.
“As I noted, the investigation remains ongoing.
“Nor is it just about this school and this road.
“It is about every child’s journey to and from school, and the value that we place on their safety and their security.”
She backed her constituents’ calls for a “meaningful change” to see “long lasting, effective changes” outside schools.
The Westminster Hall debate on Road Safety Around Schools heard current Department for Transport rules will allow a 20mph speed limit to be put in place if there are “major streets where there are or are likely to be significant numbers of journeys on foot and, or where pedal cycle movements are an important consideration and this outweighs the disadvantage of longer journey times for motorised traffic”.
Ms Brandreth said: “Needless to say, for every school there are significant journeys made on foot and on bicycle.”
She added: “Slowing down to 20mph outside of a school is such a small change to make to prevent life changing consequences that we in Chester South and Eddisbury, sadly, know all too well about.
“We can and we must do more to ensure every child returns home after school.
“They are at the start of their lives with so much potential.
“Their safety is paramount and we can do good by revising policy and rethinking speed limits for them and their families.”
Tristan Osborne, Labour MP for Chatham and Aylesford who is a former teacher said his council, Medway, had already introduced the speed limit outside schools.
Mr Osborne said: “Speed is a concern around schools and I wholly endorse the 20mph speed limit, we see that in Medway across many of our urban schools and we’ve seen a significant reduction in accidents there.”
Ms Greenwood said: “Every death on our roads could and should be avoided.
“Every child has the right to be safe on their journey to and from school, and parents should know that they will come home safely every day.
“That’s why improving road safety, including the safety of children, is one of my department’s highest priorities and we intend to act to prevent road deaths and serious injuries.”
The minister said her department was “setting its sights high” around active travel and road safety education, adding: “Local government is the main delivery body of road safety.
“Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 39 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions.
“And when it comes to speed, local authorities have the power to set speed limits on their roads, including 20mph limits and 20mph zones.
“It’s for them to determine what measures are appropriate in individual cases as they have the local knowledge of their roads, but any authority which wishes to install such schemes has my department’s full backing.”
